Until the mid 1970's, if a car was in an accident and sustained frame damage, the car was deemed a “total” economical loss by the insurance companies. They totaled the cars because the technology, equipment and information and training were not yet available to repair shops. That has all changed. By the mid 1980's most reputable body shops had a frame rack.
Representatives from various insurance companies are becoming frustrated with totaling motorcycles without knowing for sure how badly the frames are bent, especially when they can see there is minimal frame damage.
There are only five motorcycle frame shops in all of the United States, one in Arizona and four in California.
The first two are in Sacramento and Anaheim. These two shops use what is known as a peg board system. This system requires the motorcycle to be stripped down. This procedure requires several hours of labor, and they cannot provide documentation, before and after specifications or show the customer a print out that the frame is straight. This is a problem for the insurance companies. They want documentation for their records for any repairs that were performed. Another problem is these two shops require approximately eight weeks before a user gets the motorcycle back.
The other shops are located in San Bruno and Englewood, Calif. and one in Arizona. The equipment they use is called a Motojig. This is a “bench” system made in Italy which is an old and antiquated automobile frame rack in which the motorcycle has to be lifted with a hoist to be put on the “bench.” It is a cumbersome, time consuming piece of equipment.
Right now, if a user's motorcycle gets hit while parked or gets involved in a motorcycle accident in California, the bike gets towed to the dealership for repairs. The dealership strips the bike down and pays to have it transported to and from one of the frame shops at a cost to the customer and/or the insurance company.
There are more men and women riding motorcycles than ever before. Some ride to commute and/or ride for economic reasons, some ride for the sport and the thrill of it, while others ride for the lifestyle. The fact of the matter is there has never been this many people riding motorcycles in the streets.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as of Dec. 31, 2010, there are over 900,000 registered motorcycles in California alone. There are over 600,000 people a year in the United States that register for a Motorcycle safety course through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. This is just one of the many accredited Motorcycle safety Schools in the United States. With the price of gasoline going up every other week there are more and more people riding motorcycles and not just nationwide but worldwide.
Additionally, there are thousands of people who race motorcycles all over the world. There are super sport road racers, café racers, the mile, drag racing, TT, flat track, short track, enduro, and all kinds of motor cross, super cross and dirt track races being held all over the world.
With all of these races, there are teams of mechanics and technicians with truck loads of tools and equipment for mechanical repairs and adjustments.